The 376th Air Expeditionary Wing at Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan, on Nov. 9 formally opening a new fire station, maintenance warehouse, and emergency management buildings for explosive ordnance disposal. Members of Manas’ 376th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron completed these projects under a $2 million construction initiative. “We were previously living in tents,” said Anthony Hernandez, fire chief for the 376th ECES fire emergency service. The new fire station features several individual offices and bunk rooms for shift workers and allows the airmen to store and maintain their equipment better in extremes of weather. “This really enhances our operations,” said Lt. Col. Mike Mendoza, 376th ECES commander. (Manas report by SSgt. Olufemi Owolabi)
The Air Force wants to pump more than $12 billion over the next five years into its new affordable long-range missiles program and recently asked industry to push the flights of some of those munitions beyond 1,200 miles.